TO RAISE 30,000 MEN

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2654, 28 December 1915, Page 6

TO RAISE 30,000 MEN

THE RECRUITING SCHEME

OUTLINE OF GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS STATEMENT BY PRIME MINISTER. By TclesraDh.—Press .Association. Auckland, December 27. "Thirty thousand recruits will be required during the coming year to fill tho reinforcement drafts for the Expeditionary Force,"said . the Prime Minister when interviewed to-night. "Every month a. contingent of 2500 men must be dispatched to the front. The undertaking lias been given by the Government that the reinforcements will be regularly maintained, and in order that there may be no default it has hecn decided to bring into operation quickly a scheme -by which recruiting will bo systematically organised throughout tlio Dominion'." Local Government Organisation. The main principles of the schome were announced.last week. The conduct. of the campaign will be controlled 6y_ a Recruiting Board comprisinc; tho Prime Minister, the Minister of" Defence, and tho Minister of Finance. An explanation of the organisation to bo employed was riven by the Prime Minister. It is now intended to bring every part of tho country under the influence of a systematic campaign conducted by voluntary organisers, so that a personal appeal will be made to eve impossible recruit. The organisation wiil be based on the existing system of loca! government. At first every borough council and every county, council will be askqd to organise a campaign in the area under its jurisdiction. As the scheme comes fully into operation it will probably be found advisable to distribute- tho work even further, so that road districts, and possibly even school districts; will be constituted separate recruiting areas. The Government anticipates tha.t every member of every local body will give active assistance in tho scheme, and that each local body will bo able to secure tho services of other representative persons in its district. Use of the War Census. An important feature of the scheme is that every recruiting centre will bo furjiished with a list of men of military age in its district. The names of all men between the ages of 19 and 44 years -ivill .be shown in the lists, and opposite every name will bo an indication whether the man is married or single: These lists will be compiled from the National Register. Emphasis was given by Ihe Prlsne Minister to the fact that tho use of the National llegister in this way does not constitute a breach of tlie 'confidence that was promised when tho census was taken. There will be no moans of .learning from the recruiting rolls in which way any man answered the essential questions.